Cubs News: Arrieta admits reason for struggles in 2017 |
Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta is one of the top baseball pitchers in the major leagues when he is on his game with his command and the use of his different pitches. However, since his magical 2015 National League CY Young year, he has slowly tapered off to a shell the player he once was.
In 2017, he has been disappointing to Cubs fans with a 6-5 record in 14 starts with 4.64 ERA and high 1.33 WHIP. MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal interviewed Arrieta recently and the pitcher was very honest in his assessment of why his numbers are down the last two seasons. "As much as we don’t want to say that it carries over from season to season, throwing almost 500 innings over the past two years, I think it did have some effect," Arrieta said. Arrieta knows being in the postseason the last two years can take a toll on a pitcher's arm and prolong recovery time for the next season. "I’m not hurt or injured," Arrieta said. "It’s just that I think my body has reacted accordingly and it’s taken a little bit longer to regain the form that I would like to be in." Arrieta has thrown 468 1/3 innings the last two seasons which is second in the majors to only Max Scherzer. Also, another alarming trend for Arrieta's future is that his fastball is notable slower from 93.6 mph to 91.8 mph.
